Falling Blossoms
by Cssty
Summary: This is the life of Maria, before the other soul society fanfiction even began! :D I do not own Bleach Only obsessed XD ByakuyaXOC, RenjiXOC


**Okay, so, this is a backstory to a character in my Bleach Fanfic C: Her name is Maria and she is Byakuyas fiance :P But, she's not typed in yet XD XD**

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I sat in the corner at my friend's house, like I did whenever my parents fought. This time, I sort of took running too far, got lost, and it was all over for me. I collapsed, full of hunger, and died. Being in 6th grade before even getting to high school, I just, died. "What the heck am I even doing here anyways...?" I thought, trying not to cry.

"What are you doing here?" I heard someone ask.  
I looked up to see a girl, obviously older than me. "Who are you?"

"I'm Momo!" she smiled. "And you are...?"

"...Maria..."

"Why are you here all alone?"

"I'm dead, a spirit, and this is my best friend's house. I could only find my way here..."I sighed. "I want to get out of here..." Momo stamped my head. "What the-"

"You are heading to the Soul Society. There you will definitely be a lot happier," she smiled at me.

"Thanks," I mumbled, as I left.

Many years passed since then, and I was enjoying every day in the soul society.

"Maria! Time to go!"

"Coming mom!" I ran downstairs to my Soul Society relatives.

"Morning," she smiled.

"Morning," I hugged her.

I grabbed a doughnut and ran out the door with my "little sister" following me.

"Where are we going?" she asked, jumping on my back.

"Yuichi's. He has a new older sister!" I said, running to the house.

"Oh, cool!" she yelled, as we were almost there.

I skidded past the house, then walked to it and walked inside. "Hi!" I said, and hugged Yuichi's mother and father.

"Oh! Maria!" his mother said.

"Where's the newbie?" I asked looking around.

"MARIA!" Yuichi ran up and hugged me.

"Me too" my sister said, stubbornly.

"Oh, hi Nadia."

"Where's your sister?" I asked.

"Oh, she's upstairs. Come on!" Yuichi led us upstairs. "Pat!" he called. The small, 4th grade girl turned around.

"Hi" she said to Nadia and me.

"Hey." I responded. "What's your name?"

"Patrina! And yours?"

"I'm Maria! And this is Nadia!" I smiled.

She nodded. "I see!"

"Well, we should go now... Bye!"

"See ya." Yuichi and Patrina said, as Nadia and I left.

When we got home, it was completely dead silent.

"Mom? Dad?" I called, but nothing. We waited around for a while, until a soul reaper came and told us dreaded news.

"A hollow broke into the Soul Society... It... Killed your parents... We're sorry." he said.

Nadia started to cry and I hugged her. "Nadia we'll be fine, Really..." The soul reaper went away. It was that moment that I decided to become a soul reaper. To protect Nadia and others...

Eight months passed, and I was finally in the academy. I never thought the soul reaper academy would be so exhausting... I mean, I could handle it but man, it was tough.

"Maria Parker, right?" asked a girl with curly brown hair asked.

"Yeah," I looked up. I wasn't very popular in the academy, so I found it surprising someone actually was talking to me.

"I'm Izabel!" she introduced. "I'm in my second year here! What about you?"

"First year," I responded.

"What are you doing over here? Everyone else is over there!"

"They don't really like me... They talk about me behind my back. "

"Awe,I KNOW! I'LL BE YOUR FRIEND! "

"...Okay."

"Come on!"

And that's how my friendship with Izabel began. We would practice together, and I surprisingly kept up with her moves. We also went down to visit Nadia and other spirits. Time went by a lot quicker than I imagined when I was with her.

After many days, it was time for the captains to visit the academy.

"COME ON RIA COME ON!"

"... Where are we going again, Iza?"

"The captains and lieutenants are coming!"

"HOLY CRAP, I FORGOT!" I sprang out of bed and followed Izabel quickly to beat the crowd.

When we got there, we watched the head captain and first division captain give a speech. The head captain's lieutenant was there with him. "And now, I introduce the leaders of squads 2-13!"

The captains walked by one by one with their lieutenants. Squad 2's captain who was very small walked with her fat lieutenant, followed by a blonde haired-lieutenant who was followed by a captain with long hair, pulled to the front in a braid, and her tall lieutenant with gray hair. The next person came, and I recognized her, Momo, the one who helped me and sent me here. The next squad was very... well, the captain was very... sexy. I looked over to Izabel, who was staring at the lieutenant, and I felt like laughing. We both were crazy over the two. I heard some people talking and listened in.

"That guys the head of the Kuchiki clan, right?"

"Yeah. That guys like royalty."

"He's always so serious though. Why is that?"

"He always upholds the law no matter what. I heard that his sister almost got executed, and he didn't do anything about it."

"Wow! How cruel. "

I stopped listening as the 7th squad captain, who had a wolf face, and his lieutenant with sunglasses passed by. Then squad 8's crazy floral-dressed captain along with his lieutenant with glasses passed. A boy with a 69 tattooed on his face followed along with a very short, white-haired captain and a very beautiful lieutenant who were the squad 10 leaders. The squad 11 captain scared me, and the squad 12 captain did also. A little pink-haired girl was on squad 11 captain's back, and a very quiet girl followed the squad 12 captain. The squad 13 captain and two arguing lieutenants followed. After that, the crowd moved out, and I followed Izabel away from the crowd. We sat in a tree and almost fell over in excitement.

"OH MY RA! So Many hot guys!" Izabel shouted.

"OH MY RA! I KNOW, RIGHT?" I agreed.

"I want to be in sixth squad," we both said and laughed.

"O-m-g the captain," I spaced out

"O-m-g the lieutenant," Izabel mumbled

"Soooo smexeh!" we fell backwards and hung in the tree. We poked each other and laughed.

"Hey Iza, what was your life like back then? When you were living?"

"I don't remember. "

"Oh, I do. "

"Weird. Oh! But I remember one thing! After I died there was a ghost of a girl! Her name was Sarahi! Well, anyways, she's my wifey."

"... You have a wife?" I asked, and sweatdropped.

"Yep! She's my wifey! And I luf her."

I laughed. "I had a friend like that, she would always take me in when my parents were fighting... It was scary so I would run to her house. I miss Alexis so much..."

"You'll see her again someday!" Izabel smiled. "You just see!"

I smiled at her. "Yeah."

It was two years later, and finally Izabel graduated.

"Iza!" I ran over to her "you're meeting your captain right? What squad did you get?"

"Squad 10..."

"Oh, well... that's still good, right?"

"Yeah, I guess..."

I gave her a quick hug. "Have fun! Feel free to visit me anytime."

"I will Ria I will." Just then she left to meet with her captain.

It was four months singe Iza graduated...Argh,I just want to graduate already. My only friend left and I'm stuck here in the middle of some idiots... I guess there were at least some people that liked me.

"Hey." I said, walking into my old house where Nadia and I lived together. I didn't see Nadia, so I walked up the stairs. She was in her room sleeping, as usual. I stroked her hair. She was a lot older now, and a lot bigger too.

She woke up. "You don't have to stroke my hair. I'm not a little girl anymore."

I giggled. "Old habit." We laughed and hugged each other.

"I haven't seen you in forever," she mumbled.

"Same here," I said. "How've you been?"

"Fine. I've been getting food from Yuichi and his family. Mainly Patrina comes over. She's really nice, once you get through her awkward shyness."

"Awkward shyness, huh? Sounds a little like someone I know when she first came here," I teased.

"Shut up, you," I got in response.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, and we opened it to see Yuichi and an older girl, who looked exactly like Patrina.

'It can't be her,' I thought. 'It just can't be.'

"Hey guys, you're here early. " said Nadia.

"Patrina wanted to see you about something Nadi- MARIA!" Yuichi was surprised to see me and attacked me with a hug.

"Hi," I said and hugged back.

"Long time, no see," winked the girl.

"You're Patrina, right?" I asked, unsure.

"Yeppers," she responded.

"Wow! You're like, so much bigger now! Oh my God, I can't handle it" I said jokingly. "I'm gonna die."  
The rest of them laughed.

"What was it you wanted to talk about, Pat?" asked Nadia.

"Well you see, I got an entrance exam to the academy. Don't know what I'll do yet... I came to ask you guys about it."

"Well, it's a lot of work, so... I think you should go for it! "

"Okay!"

We ate, and then the two of them left. I was left alone with Nadia, until I said goodbye and headed back to the academy.

One year passed quickly by. I guess Patrina made it into the academy... I heard from someone she got the highest score and is currently top of the best class. And I am finally in my last year. Finally, which means at the end of the year, I finally get a squad. Lots of other people in my class want to go to 10. Most of the boys are working to get into 11. But then there's me. Wanting to go into squad 6. It's not bad though, just different. I also heard a girl mention she wanted to be in squad 1. By the end of the year it was time for our squads to get picked.

Finally, it was time for me. They hesitated a little. "Squad 6," they finally said. I kept my cool, thanked them, and got out. Then, I sort of freaked out.

"Squad 6! YES!" I celebrated.

Six days later, it was time for me to meet my captain.

"Name?" he blankly asked, not showing a lot of emotion.

"Maria Parker, Sir. Nice to meet you!"

"I am Byakuya Kuchiki. I will be your captain." he said without hesitation.

After that, it was soon time for me to leave. I bowed and got out of the room. "... He's very gloomy," I mumbled to myself.

"Don't worry about it. He always is like that," a red-haired guy stood there, with his hand out. "Renji Abarai. Nice to meet 'cha."

"Maria." I shook his hand back. I was pretty sure that I could be good friends with Renji, but not with Byakuya.

I was enjoying wandering around the barracks three days later, until I got lost. I had managed to get myself lost from my barracks and found myself near a cherry blossom tree garden. I wandered around until I unexpectantly slammed into none other than Captain Kuchiki.

"Ow... Oh! Captain! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to intrude or anything, but I got so lost and confused! And then I saw your cherry blossoms and then..." I trailed off.

"It doesn't matter. Go back to the barracks."

"O-okay sir. " I stuttered and walked away. I ran into Renji again soon after that.

"Lost your way huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, I ended up in a cherry blossom garden..."

"Okay. Just come with me I'm just going back to the barracks anyways."

"Why were you out of the barracks?" I asked and glared at him with an interested look.

"It's none of your business," he said and blushed.

"RENJI'S GOT A GIRLFRIEND! RENJI'S GOT A GIRLFRIE-" Renji hushed me in the middle of teasing him.

"So what if I do?"

"Who is it?"

"Someone from squad 10..."

"... Iza? You hooked up with her?"

"HOW THE HECK DID YOU KNOW THAT?!"

"... Relax child, I've known she had a crush on you since the academy. And, I know she got into squad 10."

"... How?"

"Iza sorta was my only friend, you know? But still, you know." I hugged him. "I'm happy for you two! It's impossible that the person I love will ever like me, so I'm happy that it worked out for Iza!"

"Who do you like?"

"Shh! It's a secret," I said and laughed. "There is no way that Captain Kuchiki could love a girl like me..." I thought, as Renji and I arrived at the barracks.

A month passed, and finally we got major orders from the head captain. Some of those monsters called hollows were invading the Soul Society, and they needed to be stopped.

"Maria wake up! Orders have come from Yammamoto! There are hollows where the spirits are!" Renji shook me until I sprung up. I was feeling really dizzy, like something was trying to take over, but I went with the squad to defeat the hollows. I felt spiritual pressure of a hollow where I used to live with Nadia and separated from the group to go there. When I parted from the others, I looked over and saw many hollows scattered.

'Nadia, be careful!' I thought while heading there. When I got to the house, I went in to see my sister lying motionless and her blood splattered everywhere. "NADIA!" I screamed and shook her body, but she was motionless.

The monster-like hollow took a swing at me. "You dare mess with my sister!" I shouted angrily. Just then, I lost control of my body to a much stronger force. A mask formed, and my arm transformed into a thing that could shoot a cero, the beam-like thing hollows can shoot. I was no longer a gentle girl; I was a girl who was longing to kill.

In a different part of the Rukon District, Byakuya and Renji were fighting other hollows.

"Renji, where is Maria?" Byakuya asked.

"HOLY CRAP! WHERE THE HECK IS SHE?"

"That's my question, Lieutenant."

"I don't know..."

Just then, they both heard a bang. As they turned around, they saw a huge hollow knocked out of a house.

"Maria!" gasped Byakuya.

"Are you sure that's her?" asked Renji, staring at the wild me.

"That's her Renji. I'm sure." Renji followed his captain to me.

"Woah, that building is like, destroyed..." stared Renji in disbelief.

"So will the rest of the Rukon District if we don't stop her."

"But how?"

Byakuya carefully approached me. "Maria, calm down..." The taken over me glared at him.

"Why do you care? You don't care about her!" said the possesed me.

'She's struggling...' Byakuya thought, seeing me in my opposite's eyes. Byakuya took my hand. "Come on, Maria." he mumbled.

"LET GO OF ME YOU IMBECILE," she yelled, struggling. She lifted up her hollow arm to fire a cero.

"NO!" I yelled to her. "I-I won't let you hurt him..."

"Aww, how sweet. Getting all lovey dovey, are you Maria?"

"SHUT UP, RI!" I yelled, and tried to take over my body again.

"Just a little more," Byakuya thought, seeing Ri getting weaker. "Maria," he mumbled and hugged my body, possessed by Ri.

"WHAT DID I SAY? LET ME GO!" she grabbed to my sword.

Concentrating hard, I struggled a bunch, and then, finally, I collapsed into my captains arms. "S-sorry..." I mumbled weakly.

Byakuya let go of me and Renji ran over. "You okay?" he asked.

"I think," I said, and actually fainted.

"... Is she really okay...?"

Byakuya picked me up and said blankly, "She has a slight fever. I'll watch her. Move out."

"Yes Sir. " Renji and everyone else responded.

I was unaware that I was in his arms, unaware, that I was even passed out. All I could think about was why Ri appeared all of a sudden... That's right, I lost my temper. But I finally regained control thanks to Byakuya's help. I felt so warm, I honestly didn't care what was going on.

'She loses her temper very suddenly, and then she just snaps, and loses control of her body... she has it really hard. I have a very interesting person in my squad,' thought Byakuya, as he approached his mansion. "She's boiling," he noticed. Byakuya walked in, and placed me in his room. He called on a maid and had her take care of me.

"She definitely needs rest. And she was very warm, her fever won't go down unless she has a wet towel on her forehead at all times," said the maid.

Byakuya nodded. "Thank you. You can leave now." The maid bowed and left.

He walked into the room, sat on the edge of the bed, and felt my forehead. It was still boiling, and I was sweating like crazy. "This is insane..." he whispered.

"Nngh..." I mumbled, and turned to the side he was at.

"Ssh... Ssh... I'm here..." he muttered, and put his hand on my cheek.

Two days passed, bit still Byakuya and I were gone. Renji sighed. The squad had nothing to do since the captain was out helping me.

"Guess who?" a girl asked and covered Renji's eyes.

"... Izabel?"

"Awe come on... Can't you guess wrong for once?" Izabel asked, as she plopped next to Renji and leaned on his shoulder. "Besides, why do you always look all pissed all the time? And why today? It's beautiful out! Smile for once! Wait, then you'll just look pissed while smiling... Pff."

"Iza, there's nothing to do today. I'm really bored."

"Why? I don't see Ria or the captain around, why is that?"

"That is exactly why. Squad six can't do anything without Captain Kuchiki... And, you haven't heard? Maria lost herself two days ago, it's like a hollow came out of her and took over..."

"REALLY?! IS RIA OKAY?!"

There was a moment of silence between the two. "We don't know," Renji said. "She just collapsed, and Kuchiki took her away. "

"I see... Poor Ria. I just hope she's okay…"

Meanwhile, I was still at the Kuchiki mansion, with my high fever.

'Her fevers still really high, and she hasn't once stopped panting and sweating... I'm doing my best but there's like, nothing else I can do…' Byakuya paced outside of the room.

"Nii-sama!" cried a girl. Byakuya turned around to see his sister, Rukia, standing there.

"Hello Rukia."

"You look troubled Nii-sama, anything the matter?"

"Take a look," Byakuya said, and let Rukia step inside the room I was in.

She walked in and gasped. "What is a girl doing here?" she asked Byakuya, who followed her in.

"She lost control, and when she got back to she grew a real high fever really quickly and fainted. I brought her here so I could help her," he sighed. "No luck so far though. She's burning."

"I've never seen you so kind Nii-sama, I like this side of you." Rukia said and hugged her brother.

Byakuya shrugged and sat down. "I did what I felt like I should do," he sighed, "but I don't even feel like I'm helping her."

"Oh… I would help if I could, but I can't do anything to help… I have to go back to thirteenth squad barracks now. See ya Nii-sama!" Rukia left.

He felt my head, and I grabbed his hand and put it to my cheek. "Your towel is dry. " he said to me.

"Stay here..." I half-consciously mumbled, still asleep.

"Okay, but just for a while. You need something cold on your head you know? Your fever's still dangerously high."

I nodded. He held my hand until I passed out of consciousness again. He turned off the light and lit the candle, and sat in the chair in his room. Hours later, before he dozed off, he noticed that I finally seemed completely at rest, and that my original fever had gone down quite a lot. He replaced my towel, and finally fell asleep after a long day.

Days later, I finally woke up. I sighed, and rolled over. Not knowing that I was curled up near the edge of the bed, I rolled of and fell right on the floor. "Oww..." I mumbled. Looking around for the first time in about six days, I finally saw where I was, in a strange room in a strange place. The only thing I saw was Byakuya sleeping in a chair. I guess he probably took care of me all this time... Wow.

I walked out, and headed toward the blossom garden. Getting to it, I suddenly realized that it was the first day of fall, and the beautiful blossoms were falling down. I sat on a bench and watched the blossoms fall down. 'They're so pretty... It's a shame they have to fall.' I thought. 'But I guess, some things have to fall, just to come back up again.' I caught one and glanced at it. 'They really are beautiful...'

I was also scared, still thinking that at any moment, I would lose me again. So far, I had been fine, but I just couldn't get myself to think that Byakuya actually helped me. He took care of me, my love for him is still growing. I was too lost in thought, so I didn't hear Byakuya come up behind me and drape his captain's cloak around my shoulders.

"We don't want you getting any sicker now do we?" he asked, as he sat next to me.

"Oh, Hey," I said back and leaned on him.

I didn't know if he did it just because or if he did it because he returned my love, but he put his arm around me. "You any better?"

'No...' I thought. But, "Yeah," was what came out.

'My life was always a wreck,' I thought. 'Never have I thought that I would be in my lover's arms like this.' I snuggled in closer.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah..." I nodded. "Fine."

Man, why did I say that? I'm scared... Terrified to go mad again. But still, he's the one who helped me. He held me when I was insane, even if I could hurt him. I owe Byakuya Kuchiki my life, and I love him so much... Without thinking much, I started to sob. "I love you. " I mumbled out and leaned on his chest. I was happy he held me when I cried, and I smiled when I fell asleep. I swear as he held the sleeping me, he was smiling back.

"I love you too," he whispered back to me. "Now let's get you to bed."

A day passed, and I was finally back at the barracks.

"RIAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Back at the squad 6 barracks, I turned around to see Izabel running toward me.

"Hi Iza." I said.

"You're back! Thank goodness!" Izabel hugged me.

"Yeah, I'm back."

"You're okay!"

"I'm fine. I'm fine. "

Just then, Captain Kuchiki passed by me. "A- good morning, Captain!" I smiled and waved. He just waved back, but he was smirking. He was actually smirking!

"Did anything happen?" smirked Izabel as she glared at me suspiciously.

"N-no! Nothing happened," I stuttered out.

"Something did, didn't it?"

I sighed. "I confessed, but nothing happened."

"He didn't say anything?"

I shook my head no. "Nothing happened."

"Oh hey, you two. Didn't see ya there." Renji walked up to us. "Maria, you're back!"

"Yeah," I giggled. "Didn't notice me, Renji?"

"I didn't even notice the captain if it makes you feel any better."

Izabel and I laughed. "It's okay Ren." she hugged him.

I looked at them and smiled. "Ria, you look absolutely miserable watching us." Izabel sighed. "I swear you need to get Kuchiki to like you!"

"So that's who you like huh?" mentioned Renji.

"Yeah, he won't ever like me."

"You never know Ria! He could and you just don't know it!"

I shrugged. "It's just... you can never tell things he's thinking."

"That is true," said Renji with a shrug.

"Well, hang in there Ria!"

"Okay! I will!"

We went through the day, and I was a little shaky because of the days I was off, but still Renji and the squad kept me going.

"I need to speak to you after, Maria. Find me in my office," said Byakuya, soon to the end of training.

"Yes Sir..." I nodded, not looking in his eyes.

Hours later, I eventually found his office and nervously walked in. "I'm here, Sir..." I said.

"Go ahead and sit down. Let me finish these papers first. Oh, and close the door."

I closed the door and sat down. Minutes later, Byakuya got done with the papers.

"Um... Sir, I wanted to say this before, but thank you for helping me. " I bowed.

"It was no trouble. You don't have to apologize."

"Right..."

"Besides the fact, there's something I want to talk to you about."

"Is it about my skills? Captain, I have been out-"

"Not that. What did you say to me at the cherry blossoms?"

"Oh that. Well, you see... um... I-I really like you a lot... Well... Uh... I really said I love you..." I blushed a deep red.

"That's what I thought," he said, sitting down next to me. "Well, I have something to say to you. You were asleep when I told you it yesterday, but Maria, I love you too."

"I must be dreaming." I blinked. "Is this a dream? I think it is." I turned to him. "Captain, is this real?"

"As real as can be," he responded.

"... Kiss me, I'm dreaming. "

"I assure you this is no dream."

"... I swear I'm dreaming..."

"I'll say it again, this isn't a dream, Maria. I really love you."

"KISS ME, I'M DREAMING!"

Just then, he leaned over and he just kissed me. "Just shut up already," he whispered.

"Now I believe you," I said and hugged him. We stayed like that for a long time, and we didn't notice Renji open the door. He snickered, then walked away. I sat in Captain Kuchiki's lap. "What was that snicker just now...?"

"... Probably Renji," he said, with his emotionless voice.

"Oh," I facepalmed. "That Renji..."

"Now if you excuse me, I have to go back to papers." Byakuya got up.

"... You're so mean," I jokingly said and poked him.

"What?"

"Just kidding." I hugged him. "Bye then."

"Bye."

"Love you" I said, before I left the door.

"You too," he said back as I left.

I got out of the office, and had a little spasm. He liked me; he actually liked me! And now we're in a relationship; it's just too exciting! My day was actually taking a turn for the better, but it was about to get worse. I headed to my room in the barracks and sat down. Surprisingly, I was feeling a bit dizzy so I laid down. After laying down, something started to creep up on me. It got closer and closer, until I noticed it was Ri again. She was trying to surface to my body and take control.

"Go away..." I muttered, gritting my teeth.

"No, I refuse. I absolutely will take complete control of your body and lock you inside it." Ri smirked.

"No..." I mumbled as I sat up and started to rock myself curled up, trying not to listen to her voice.

Her voice still echoed inside me though. "I will lock you up. I will make you suffer. I'll make you lose everyone and everything you care about. You're life means nothing to me, and I will destroy it."

I closed my eyes. "No no.. This isn't happening it's not real..." I tried to convince myself. I started to cry.

I guess it's a good thing Captain Kuchiki came at that moment. I probably would have lost myself and destroyed the barracks and everything in it, everyone there too. He held me close and rocked me gently. "It's okay Ria, it's okay. Calm down. "

I wrapped my arms around him and sobbed into his shoulder. "It almost happened again..." I sobbed out.

"But it didn't. You stopped her." He rested his head on mine. "We'll get through this... I promise."

I nodded, still full of tears. He stayed with me until I fell asleep, when he got me a blanket and left.

"Why were you in there, Captain?" asked Renji, passing when Byakuya exited my room.

"She almost lost it again," he said calmly. "She's gotten better at stopping it though. Just a bit more work, and it won't happen again."

"Oh. Hey captain, is there anything between you two?" asked Renji.

"Just a relationship. That's all."

"I knew it," smirked Renji.

"Tell anyone and I will kill you," sighed Byakuya.

"Yes Sir," Renji mumbled out.

Izabel ran up to me and hugged me the next morning. "Congrats!" she said.

"Wait... What?"

"He likes you! And now you two are in a relationship. Wow! We should go on a double date sometime."

"How do you know about that?" I asked, very confused.

"Renji." she mentioned. "He told me not to tell anyone. I said nothing else though!"

"Oh. Well, thanks!" I smiled.

"Well, I gotta go. Bye!" She flash stepped away.

"Maria?" I heard the emotionless voice of Byakuya behind me.

"What...?"

"Starting today you will be in special training. You need to learn to control Ri so she doesn't come out again."

I nodded. "Okay. "

"Don't worry I'll be there too. I just might not be training you." He sighed. "I'm just worried about you. You know?"

"I know... and I understand. As long as you're there, that's good." I hugged him.

"Come on." He picked me up. "We have to go."

"What about the squad?" I looked at him, confused.

"Renji is in charge." he sighed.

"Oh. "

"Now let's go." I nodded and he flash-stepped away from the barracks.

Moments later, we passed and arrived at the world of the living. I forgot how lively the town was. It was a nice thing to come back to. The atmosphere was calm, and it was very exciting. I was excited to start training in a place like this. Byakuya let me walk around a bit, and when I did, I ran into someone.

"I'm sorry!" We both said at the same time. "Who are you?"

"I'm Maria..." I said, feeling a bit awkward with meeting a new person randomly. "And you?"

"I'm Sarahi!" There was a bit of awkward silence after that.

"... I've heard that name before... Hey you know Izabel, right?"

"What do you know about wifey?" Sarahi glared at me.

"... Your wifey's my friend. "

"Oh, okay then!" She smiled. "Nice to meet you!"

"Hey wait, aren't you a spirit? Then why aren't you in the Soul Society?"

"I refuse to go. I won't leave this place!" She pouted.

"Why?"

"Because... because... because... I just won't."

"Oh. I won't force you to go."

"... It's getting late, isn't it?"

"... It is," I noticed. "Well, I should go. Bye!"

"Bye! Say hi to wifey for me!"

"Okay!"

I walked away and kept walking until I heard someone screaming. I listened in, and it turned out that she was yelling at her roommate.

"The one screaming back sounds like Alexis..." I thought.

I didn't know who it was until they stormed out of the house. I just stood there, until she turned and saw me. "MARIA!" She screamed, and surprised me with a hug. "I thought you were dead!"

"ALEXIS! ... I am dead." I burst out laughing at her face after that.

"Then how can I see you?"

"I have no clue!"

"It's awesome to see you though! I have a roommate now and she's... eh... bossy..."

"I see. Well I got to go. See ya!"

"Yeah, bye!"

'It's nice to see her again… even if it was for a little.' I thought, turning away.

I left again to find Byakuya. Finally, I found him in front of a shop. "Hey," I said as I approached him.

"Oh, you're back I see. Come on. This is where we are training." I followed him into a basement of the shop, and looked around. It was huge! And it looked so... empty sorta.

I stared at him. "This is really where we're training?" He just nodded in response.

"You two look lively," came a voice from behind us. We turned around to see the owner of the shop, Urahara, standing there. "Hope you will find it useful. It's been really empty nowadays."

Byakuya and I nodded, and followed Urahara back upstairs. We found a room, and when it was time for bed, Byakuya laid down. I just sat in the corner. "Why are you sitting there?" he asked. "You know you can come over here with me."

"Yeah, but then if Ri comes out, I'll hurt you..." I mumbled. "I'd rather sit here then watch my love get hurt by another side of me."

"Okay, fine. If that's the way you want it." He flipped around onto his side.

When he fell asleep, I snuck over. 'I'm not sure that I will tonight... I don't think I'll lose my conscience.' I thought, as I laid down next to him and snuggled up.

The next morning when Byakuya woke up, he noticed me, and I was crying for some reason. "Maria? Maria! Hey wake up! You okay?"

I woke up once I was roused by him, and I hugged him. "I'm fine..." I said between hiccups.

"No you're not... What happened?"

"Just a nightmare, but you're safe and that's what matters..."

"... We really have to do something. It was a dream with Ri, right?" I nodded. "Don't worry. You'll learn how to overcome her soon." He wiped away my tears. I nuzzled him, and we headed toward the training grounds. Soon, I noticed an orange-haired boy standing there.

"Yo Byakuya, why do I have to be here?" he said, kind of rudely.

"Because, Ichigo, you will be helping." He nudged me forward, "and I don't remember telling you, you could address me by my first name."

"Yeah, whatever. Just why do I have to help the girl?"

"She needs help controlling her hollow side. Like you did, she needs help to control it, so that's why I called you."

"It's true." I nodded.

"Well then, let's get started." Ichigo smirked. "Get ready girl, because you're going to fight yourself."

"... My names Maria..." I whispered, annoyed, before I was sucked into a world in my mind. It was really odd... the side where I was standing was all floral, but the side where Ri was standing was a desert wasteland.

"Why are you here?" she asked, glaring at me.

"I'm here... to beat you. So you won't come up again..."

"Aha, yeah right. I'll beat you senseless!"

I drew my sword. Ri fired a cero before I could attack. I dodged it, and attacked with my sword. She stopped it with her hand.

"You're sorta good," she smirked, "but not good enough." She pushed me back.

The battle went on for hours. Byakuya was watching my body from the outside, and so was Ichigo. "Should we get worried yet?" he asked.

"Nope. It usually takes a while," Ichigo mentioned, also watching. "Don't worry. She won't be defeated easily."

Back in my mind, my battle with Ri still rages on. Dodging her attacks was not easy, but my sword backed me up when the cero reached me. Whenever I went in to strike her, she would dodge with ease, not even getting a scratch on her. I had no hope for winning, at least that's what I thought. I wanted to defeat her, but there was absolutely no way. But then I looked over in Ri's glare. She looked unsure about winning too. The battle could go either way, I figured, so why should we fight?

"Ri, we don't have to do this. If you just stay down, this fight doesn't have to continue…"

"No. I refuse to be put down by the likes of you!" she shouted, and angrily fired a cero, which hit me full on. I coughed. "See, you're full on weak. If there's anyone who should be giving up, it should be you, you weak little soul reaper."

I shouted and attacked her with my sword again. She got cut at least a little before she flung me away. Both of us were filled with a power but yet, neither of us was winning. We were both on equal level. It makes sense, since we're both one person combined. The battle was still going on, with us shouting at each other about giving up. But that wasn't going to happen. Neither of us would. The both of us looked at each other, exhausted. The battle was finally coming to a close.

"Ri, just give up. We are still getting nowhere with this, and you won't gain control. "

"NO!" She cried, and she attacked me one last time. I held out my sword for defense, and she ran right into it, impaling her stomach. It was over. I won. I didn't have to worry about losing myself again.

"Dangit..." she weakly said, as she fell.

I turned around to leave as Ri laid there, defeated, but I didn't see Ri's hand move. When I opened my eyes I was, in the basement training grounds. I ran up and hugged Byakuya. "I won! I did it!"

"You did?"

"I told you she would, didn't I?" smirked Ichigo.

"Shut up Ichigo." said Byakuya, as he squeezed me.

Ichigo just shrugged it off and left.

"You okay after that?" he asked.

I shook my head no. "Tired..." I quietly said, and then I collapsed in his arms. He kissed my forehead and headed up the stairs with me in his arms.

We slept for hours, until the sun rose up. When I woke up, I nuzzled his nose. "Wake up sleepy, we have to go back today."

He opened his eyes drowsily. "Oh, good morning."

Morning!"

We left later that day and quickly got back to the barracks. I got attacked by Izabel later that day, telling me that Byakuya and I were going to go with her and Renji to a park the next day.

"... Okay then," I said, as she excitedly jumped for joy. "Oh, and by the way, your wifey says hi."

"YOU MET MY WIFEY?!"

"Well, I sorta just slammed into her." I laughed.

She laughed too. We said bye to each other, and she left. I was walking down the hallway to find Byakuya. He ended up almost slamming into me.

"Hey," I said to him.

"You looked like you were having fun."

I nodded. "We're going to the park tomorrow with them... I hope that doesn't mess with anything... sorry. Bya..."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Okay!" I hugged him.

The day passed quickly, and the next day came in a hurry. I woke up and got dressed, and hurried up to meet with Iza and the others. I met up with them, and we hurried to the park. It was truly beautiful, and getting a ride from Byakuya was fun. I didn't feel like walking, so I made him carry me, but besides the fact. Byakuya and I sat around and watched Izabel and Renji have fun. I laid on the ground, until Byakuya told me to get up.

"Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy yyyyyyyyyy?" I complained.

"Because you'll see," Byakuya said.

"Fine..." I got up.

He walked up to me. "I really don't know what to say or anything, but I'll just say it... Maria Parker, will you marry me?"

"... What did he just say?" asked Renji to Izabel. They were watching us two basically the whole time.

"I think he just proposed..." said Izabel.

"... Yes! Yes, Byakuya Kuchiki! I will!" I jumped up and hugged him. I planted a kiss on his lips and snuggled close to him.

After that, Iza and I fooled around at the park until it got dark. We all returned back, and Byakuya and I got congratulations from them. Then, we all parted. The night passed, and the mornings after couldn't get any better.

We still have time to plan the wedding, but when we do, it will happen as soon as possible.

But little did I know, something was still stirring inside me. Ri was still in there... Still longing to come out. There was no knowing when she could, or where. She was still there, and she was very mad.

* * *

**So, there you go! :D (Read the other fanfic sometime! C: It sorta explains more about Patrina and her new life :D ) **

**Read and review please! 3 :3**


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